When You Mess The With The Ron You Get The Horns

My man Patrick Reusse at the Minneapolis Star Tribune has jogged our collective memories to the halcyon days of two weeks ago. The Twins were middling in the AL Central and Ron Gardenhire was unhappy. Not only with his team, but with MLB for telling his team they needed to speed up the game. Sound familiar?

The Twins arrived in Milwaukee on Friday the 13th having lost six of seven on the road trip. They would win two of three against a surging Brewers club, including a 9-4, 12-inning victory on a stirring Saturday night.

Milwaukee won on Sunday, assisted when plate umpire Brian Runge called out Harris on strikes as he signaled for time against a quick-pitching Guillermo Mota.

Gardenhire was ejected and fined $1,500 -- mostly for ripping Runge after the game.

You're dadgummed straight he was ejected. He put down the paper bag of Busch, extinguished his Ronster 200 and took Runge out behind the shed. Well Reusse's point is after that day the Twins started their tear. They've gone 11-2 since then on the way to the best interleague record in the league (14-4) and got as close as .5 game to the White Sox.

And don't think he's going to loosen the reins just because they've found recent success. Why he got tossed just last night. I love Ron Gardenhire. He's like a Jim Leyland that doesn't want to kill me.

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For all of his faults Gardenhire is right on the money when he gets pissed about those stupid warnings that umps shell out whenever someone pitches inside. In the first inning last night Perkins pitched one high and tight on Guillen (I think) and then as the video shows Galaraga threw two in a row at Mauer and both benches were warned. Now the Twins can't retaliate for the second pitch and umps have taken away the inside pitch for the rest of the game. Now the hitters can lean over the plate with out having to worry about getting the pitch inside. The umps have effectively taken half the plate away from the pitchers. The umps are there to call the game not affect the outcome. Too many of them think they are cowboys and want to get there names in the paper and be on ESPN. The league should fine these guys not the managers who are just going out there to protect their players.

He also pulls that card out of his hip pocket when he absolutely needs describe the thinness of cut meat at fine restaurants in L.A., but doesn't feel like stopping chewing or drinking buckets of ponzu sauce for even a minute.